29/06/2023
Some late night ramblings…
…I think I appreciate Will Benson about as much as anyone on this Reds team right now. The kid started the season lost, struggling, just not on point. Got sent down. Instead of sulking or getting lost worse, he worked, fixed, tweaked and came back on fire.
That’s hard, you know? To admit you have a weakness or an area of yourself you need to fix or challenge. But to pull yourself up and turn yourself around, on ANYTHING, athlete or regular, everyday Joe. That’s some strength.
I’m sitting here right now, very uncomfortable with my breathing and overall self from a lot of things. The smoke, the environment, long covid, a horrible flare of asthma, and perhaps, at this very moment, most aggravated by itchy scars. Yes. I have a ton of scars…
…and they insist on itching furiously from time to time, I presume just to make me insane but also to remind me of how far I’ve come since getting them. The scars on my lips and face just drive me crazy, and most people say they can’t see them, but I see them every day.
I’ve come a long way since the day that horse kicked me in the face and head. Some days I’m better and some days I’m the same and some days I’m worse. It’s funny. It seems trite to say “I’ve come a long way” but I have. The weird part is sometimes it was forward and sometimes…
…sometimes it was backwards. Sometimes? It was in circles. And I think that’s important for anyone struggling. Sometimes in those horrible moments you think, if I can just get out of this, I will never do “fill in the blank” again. But you know what?
You may. You may learn from it and not do it again. But you *may* do it again. You never know how you may slip and slide on your path forward. The silver lining this time is you know you made it last time. And you can make it again.
So like my itchy scars, or Will Benson’s high level play on the baseball field, the good news is that when you get another chance, it’s up to you how you use it or what you learn from it. Or even how you mess it up again. But regardless, you’re moving forward with lessons learned.
And that’s worth something.